//------------------------------//
// Chapter 03 - Approaching 
// Story: Twilight Daylight: The Cold War 
// by thedarktome 
//------------------------------//

Waiting for news was so tedious. But Queen Arcadia is a patient Queen. She had more to worry over than her Aquatas taking up formation and preparing launch at sea this morning. Like all of the paperwork she had to take over now. Queen Arcadia was now a widow and monarch of Psera. A single ruler unlike before. There was no more King and Queen. Now there was only a Queen.

Her office space couldn't have been more silent. Save for the scribbling of pen against forms and documents. Taking over was a large stack on the left of her desk before a sheet was slid to her middle for her to read on top of her screen, write on, then added to the pile on the right.

Repetition, repetition, repetition. But it had to be done. She was sure she'd have bags under her eyes before the week was out. After the one hundred fiftieth document, she set the pen down and looked to all of her LiVAMs. No news yet on the Aquata launch formation. Once they take up formation at the Psera Obelisk Line, then they'll finally be able to strike back and avenge their fallen friends and allies. Zebrica declared war on Psera that day.

Psera would be more than happy to comply.

Queen Arcadia stood up from her seat and put on her hoof shoes for a comfortable walk around Safe Haven when someone knocked on her door. Without looking up, she ordered, "Enter!"

Gardeen pushed the door open and walked in with a tight glossy green smile. "I just got word: The Secretary of Defense is ready to launch at any time on your command."

Queen Arcadia's face slowly turned into a grin of joy. That walk could wait. "Have Secretary Manny gather all Administrators and project directors into the Control Room at the Office of Defense. Is there any word on ETA?"

Once Queen Arcadia had her shoes on, she walked out the door with Gardeen and her Guards. Her hooves were anxious and excitedly moving faster than any of them.

Gardeen caught up with her at the elevator and answered, "They said within three hours it should reach Equestria, then Mount Aris before finally touching down in Zebrica."

"Perfect. I want to launch as soon as possible so order all Executive Defense Staff and Program Leaders in the Office Of Defense immediately. Tell them I'm on my way."

"Yes, Queen Arcadia."



These were seriously the last ponies Shining would ever choose for an escort team to Psera. When Celestia delivered the recommendation, Shining waited until Hearth's Warming Eve afternoon until he decided to pursue it. He put on his best outfit at home and took a train to Canterlot with the information and mission in a thick steel suitcase. All information about this was underground and classified just in case they were dealing with something serious.

Shining was hoping they weren't and it was minor.

After the trip to a busy Canterlot, Shining Armor walked through the cold winter streets for a specific place the recommendation pointed him to. Although getting in wouldn't be easy, he had enough cred to get inside.

Shining walked past the castle, Donut Joes, the street where he grew up as a foal over to an exclusive bar where all of Canterlot would go. It was loud and noisy already. A place called Rising Stars. Home to the top ponies in Equestrian Society, like the name implied.

He walked past a line of ponies in his extravagant black and white suit over to the big bouncer guarding a red rope. He could see all the ponies in there talking, drinking, smoking, all types of things. He reached into his suit when the bouncer—a large mare Unicorn who could be Bulk Muscles' wife—spotted him and pulled out a gold and silver badge.

"I'm here to see the Wonderbolts. Official Government Business."

She stared at it with dark blue eyes for a sign of fraud but it was definitely legit. She knew real when she saw it. The bouncer lifted the rope and let him in before closing up the entrance one more.

Being in a bar wasn't Shining's forte. He was more of a laid back, drink-at-home-with-the-buddies kind of guy. And this was the reason why. A lot of talking, shouting, laughing, cigarette smoke, and angry yelling before he had to duck from something being thrown. Bad part about it all, these ponies were celebrities. Well-known actors, dancers, entertainers. Rich ponies. Eh, who cares? He was on a mission more important than what they thought they were.

He walked over to a nearby table hosting the fastest legendary showboats he's ever witnessed. The Wonderbolts. Tonight there were only three of them. Soarin, Rainbow Dash, and Spitfire. Laughing and having a good time. Unfortunately, he had to interrupt it.

He grabbed a chair from a nearby table and slid into an empty place at their own. Then dropped down in between both Spitfire and Rainbow Dash across from Soarin. Rainbow recognized him immediately.

"Hey, egghead's brother!" She greeted. Rainbow jabbed him playfully in the side. "How's it going? What are you doing here?"

Shining looked between both Dash and Spitfire and answered, "I'm here to see the both of you actually, and I would be doing much better if you two could not ask questions and follow me."

Spitfire grabbed the handle of a mug of Apple Cider and started gulping down what was left. Which happened to be the whole cup. Shining didn't even know that was possible and looked to the rest of the table for a reaction. The most he got was Soarin staring nonchalantly and Rainbow Dash nodding her head like a crazy pony. Were they really the right ones for this job?

Once Spitfire downed her cup, she slapped it back on the table and belched louder than she flies. She slapped Rainbow's outstretched hoof and smirked at Shining.

"What?" She asked. "You caught us in a bar, what did you think was going to happen? So where we goin', Sparks' brother?"

Shining stood up and lifted the suitcase for them to stare at. Rainbow didn't get it because she was shaking her head, but Spitfire knew that suitcase anywhere. It was the 'It's a Secret' suitcase.

She hopped up from her seat all business and trotted past Shining. "Follow me. Come on, Rainbow. You'll want to be here for this one. Guard our table, Soarin!"

Spitfire led them through the dark atmosphere of the bar and the idiots dancing around to the door leading to the kitchen in the back. She pushed it open carelessly and walked inside with them on her tail. It was much brighter and quieter in here, despite all the cooking and cleaning going on. Ponies working watched them pass before continuing their job.

Her journey led them to a single wooden door on the right she walked into. A meeting room for the staff. Shining knew one when he saw one. It had dirty tiled floors, a few circular tables , and a whiteboard at the very front for announcing upcoming events.

Once Shining and Rainbow Dash were inside, Spitfire closed and locked the door. "Alright, we're in private," she said.

A decent room with barely any exits and a table? Perfect. Shining took the lead and sat down at one. "Thank you, Spitfire," he said. "Have a seat, please. Both of you."

Rainbow Dash was a little critical about all of this. She's never done anything like this before. She barely had a clue of what was going on. Just that it was going to be a long few minutes.

Shining opened up the briefcase and pulled out two forms he slid across to them.

"This is a confidentiality agreement," he made clear. His eyes glared into the both of theirs. "What I'm about to tell you, cannot leave this room. You can't tell anyone else."

Spitfire popped the pen in her mouth and quickly signed her name on the bottom with the precision of a Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash was a little more careful with hers. But they both signed and slid it back to him.

Next he pulled more papers and a voice recorder.

"Okay," he began. "Yesterday, Princess Celestia, Queen Novo, and Secretary Glimmer with Ambassador Shimmer came across a clue as to Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle's sudden silence. A message made to stay on Psera reached out to the Embassy and we managed to get a hold of it."

He diddled with the voice recorder and played back what was played inside of the IHT meeting yesterday. "This is Senior Captain Dark Silver of the Elite Guard. All Captains and Lieutenants are to report teams to the castle immediately. Multiple casualties, and the Queen is wounded. Multiple bodies in the Throne Room, beware of bombs. We need air support for the Secretary of Royalty and Queen. No word on the King."

Rainbow Dash gasped and repeated, "Bombs?"

Apprehension gripped Spitfire's heart. She glared at the recorder and asked, "What the buck is going on in Psera?"

Shining sighed with the weight of a worried brother and answered, "We're not sure. But we do know for a fact that if the Queen was wounded there was an attack. She hasn't been responding to any of our messages or letters, nor any of her staff. We're trying to hold out until after Hearth's Warming for a response. But if we don't get anything, that's when you two come in."

Whoa, wait! Were they going on a mission?! Rainbow drawled, "Whoa, time out. Are we in the military or something here?"

Shining shook his head and quickly replied, "No. But that's good for the mission. The International House of Trade has decided to send Ambassador Shimmer because she's a familiar and friendly face in Psera, and you two because you are the fastest Equestria has to offer. All of you aren't threatening and have no weapons. Psera is alarmed and sending soldiers would be a bad idea."

A group of soldiers with spears and crossbows are threatening to the country with razor sharp blades, huge cannons on top of huge boats, and five branches of military with the strongest Queen in the existence of Equus? Yeah, Rainbow Dash wasn't so sure about that.

But she agreed and asked, "So how are we getting Ambassador Shimmer there? Last I checked, she can't fly."

"She just needs a push on the cloud that you'll be giving her.  Sunset knows the spell to walk on clouds, so she can carry herself. She just needs you guys to push her in that direction and escort her to Psera."

"Will we be allowed on Psera?"

Shining shrugged and answered, "That's up to them. Psera is approximately five hundred twenty eight miles off the West Coast of Las Pegasus. Go there, check on Queen Arcadia, and get out. We'll be watching remotely from Equestria with one of Psera's own devices implanted on Ambassador Shimmer's body. Anymore questions?"

Rainbow Dash had a lot of questions. Too many for today actually. But Shining definitely couldn't answer any of them. So she asked the one he could. "How long would it take us to get there?"

"A minimum of three hours at your speed. You'll have to fly pretty fast and be ready, okay? Remember, you're peaceful and just want to know how Queen Arcadia is doing."

Okay, that sounds easy enough. Get to Psera, ask how they're doing, come back home. Easy as pie. Rainbow leaned back and crossed her hooves with Spitfire. Then they both said at the same time, "We're in."



It was happening. Tonight was the night. The sun had set to plunder Psera into a dark world littered with light resembling snowflakes all over the country. They hit the streets of Lavender, the Mausoleums holding the Royalsa Passed, and the Royal Pod carrying Queen Arcadia to the Office of Defense building finally rolling into view.

Queen Arcadia's expression to the press flashing their cameras at the pod was nonchalant. She was already used to Psera's press. Late at night though was new.

Her sights moved from her window to Her Majesty Molten Ice glaring at the picture of her son in her hooves. She was feeling vengeful. Twilight knew exactly how she was feeling.

The time was twelve fifty-one at night, Hearth's Warming. The Aquatas holding the Marrials had taken up their positions on the East Coast at Sea. With a trajectory straight for Zebrica.

The Guards quickly opened the doors for the Queens of Psera and stood by while they proceeded up the Office of Defense's stairs. Anxiety was high and anger was deep. Tonight was the night the timer would begin. At approximately one in the morning, those Marrials were going into the air, and would land in Zebrica in six hours at seven. Ending this millennia-long feud with the zebras.

After a silent and urgent trek through the building's long silent halls and up a well of stairs, they arrived in a large busy dark room. Her Majesty Molten Ice remembered this room very well. This was the same room they watched Queen Arcadia go at it with Maheera Dark. Full of controls, an observatory deck, and soldiers manning cameras and data. This was both their strategy and command room.

It was dark as the night outside. The three large LiVAMs on the far wall past the rows of command stations occupied by soldiers displayed live feeds of the Aquatas at sea. On their decks were large pods holding four Marrials each, amed towards the darkened winter sky. A long line of them awaiting command.

Queen Arcadia met the rest of the executives leading this attack at the command station, a balcony overlooking the rest of Mission Control below them that allowed them to shout orders and plan at the same time. And where Queen Arcadia will be doing the detonating of the bombs herself.

General Bold Shoulder of the Force Guard, General Neon Lightning of the Aqua Guard, General Mack Land of the Aerial Guard, Admiral Shooting Star of the Coast Guard, and Secretary Manny of the Elite Guard were all there to bow and greet the Queens upon their arrival.

"Your majesties," Secretary Manny greeted. She rose and waved out to the sea of soldiers talking and making adjustments below, and the single bright red button on the railing. "We're ready to strike at any time."

All made room for Queen Arcadia's wings when she approached the red button attached to the balcony's railing. The one that would flip the ground with blood and fire. This button would be the Zebras' death sentence.

Her eyes trained on the night vision feed supplied to them by cameras on the Aquatas and asked, "Where are we?"

"Directly at your Obelisk Line," General Bold Shoulder answered. "The Marrials should take, at most, six hours to reach land. We are expecting a few bumps and hurdles along the way, but they will land."

Queen Arcadia didn't doubt that. Thirty Marrials making impact in a foreign country were more than enough. If they lose one or two, then that's fine. This was just to completely decimate Zebrica and its state. Permanently.

Queen Arcadia looked to the time behind them on the wall. Less than a minute. So she turned back and ordered, "Engage all Marrials."

General Neon Lightning—a mare with a neon blue coat, light blue and white mane and tail, light green eyes, eight foot wings—shouted, "All Aquatas, engage all Marrials!"

The soldiers at the command stations immediately started arming their stations. The images on-screen showed the soldiers on the decks of the Aquatas scrambling to get to a safe distance below deck when smoke billowed out from behind the Marrial Pods.

"Aquatas One, Two, Three, and Four engaged!"

"Aquatas Five and Six engaged!"

"Aquatas Seven and Eight engaged!"

They were ready. All eyes on the clock and Queen Arcadia. Glaring at the giant LiVAMs. Her mind was confusing her. Was this the right thing to do? To attack a country that could barely defend itself and become the bully to this story? To tear them to pieces for the mere murder of Psera's innocents?

Her doubts were erased when a flashback of her own husband dying in her hooves after having a bomb blow his chest open speared through her mind. Then an image of her daughter collapsing into dust in those same hooves less than two hours later. The burn on her face that took half her vision. The slaughter of the innocent Pserateps celebrating her return to the throne with her family. Right in front of her very eyes she saw them all die. She saw their relatives cry. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends experiencing an unnecessary grief.

Queen Arcadia's violet eyes glowered and narrowed in anger. They slaughtered innocent ponies in cold blood because of a superstition. The least she could do was return the favor.

After all, she was a fair Queen.

The second the clock struck one, like a buzzer in her mind, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle nodded to Secretary Manny who ordered down, "Launch away, control!"

The second the command was given, thirty ponies down below pressed keys on their control boards. Queen Arcadia looked up from them to the LiVAMs and observed the Marrials take off by engaging boosters inside of their pods on each Aquata.

They slowly rose out into view and billowed pillars of smoke onto the deck of their ships. The fire from their boosters shined like stars in the sky, ascending higher and higher, accelerating faster and faster from their sight on a path to Zebrica.

Queen Arcadia couldn't wait until seven.



Hearth's Warming in Equestria was always filled with celebration. Singing, dancing, playing out in the snow. Especially in the cities such as Canterlot. It was as if mornings never existed. Ponies were out at five showing off their toys, new clothes, and creations. Rarity was out with Spike and Sweetie Belle generously giving away knitted scarves of her own design. Applejack and Apple Bloom were out hoofing away free apple treats, Fluttershy was out with her family and somehow tending to the animals at the same time in the White Tail woods.

As for Rainbow Dash? She was up in Cloudsdale with her family and Scootaloo. Practically her own daughter. Sunset Shimmer, Starlight, Maud, and Trixie decided to spend theirs together back at Trixie's place on the other side of Ponyville near the Train station. Laughing, opening thoughtful gifts and having fun.

Princess Cadance, Flurry, and Shining Armor brought their Hearth's Warming to Ponyville to be with Twilight Velvet and Night Light. The home was cozy and set up with presents, bows, decorations, and sweet treats Flurry was indulging in on their couch. Grandma's sweets were always an anxiety-killer.

Mom and dad were all snuggly-wuggly on the couch across wearing those ugly sweaters. Spike said he'd drop by later with Sweetie Belle to help her get out of this awkwardness. Now if only Grandma and Grandpa could stop pacing a ring in the carpet.

Cadance was wrapped up in Shining's hooves drinking from a mug of cocoa watching them pace with her. Her mane was recently done into a bun with small sideburns that accentuated her look of nonchalance.

She sighed into her cup and assured, "I'm sure Twily is fine."

Twilight Velvet's pacing never ceased. Although she did shout, "Then why isn't she here?! She would never miss a Hearth's Warning with her daughter and husband after ten years of absence!"

Cadance couldn't argue with that. So, she went back to sipping her hot chocolate. This was a very tense family get-together.

Flurry groaned and tilted her head back on the couch so she was looking at the ceiling and out the window. Whatever is going on... Hey, what's that?

Flurry trained her eyes on a bright star soaring through the clouds dropping snow across Equestria. Bright and leaving a cloud of its own in the form of a trail nearing Ponyville's air. A moving star!

Flurry rolled over and pushed aside Grandma and Grandpa's curtain. It was coming from behind Aunt Twilight's old castle. A really big star. Flurry slowly placed her hooves on her grandparents' hardwood floors and walked to the front door to step outside. Her eyes trained right back on that huge shining star.

"Hey mom, look!" She shouted. "A moving star!"

Cadance removed herself from Shining and walked around her pacing in-laws to stand next to Flurry in the doorway. She focused her eyes on that large star nearing Ponyville. Brighter than Celestia's sun and seemingly twinkling.

She smiled by the time Shining and her in-laws followed them outside and watched it near Ponyville. They weren't the only ponies to notice. The foals playing outside stopped running in the snow and pointed hooves up to the sky. Towards the approaching star.

Ponies in Canterlot were stopping what they were doing and locked eyes on it too, like Princesses Luna and Celestia were watching it from their balcony. Flying high above.

Then another one appeared from behind the clouds. Princess Flurry sat down and watched it inch closer and closer. When she spotted the second one, she pointed a hoof up to the sky and shouted, "There's two of them!"

Whatever they were, they were really big. Cadance could make out their shapes, similar to sharp white pencils. They were still hard to materialize entirely, but she could still see all three of them.

Cadance placed a hoof on Shining and asked, "What are those?"

He shrugged and answered, "I have no clue."

When one finally reached directly over Ponyville, the other two behind it seemed to align themselves before a scary sight appeared behind those: a line of ten stars appeared. Followed closely by another ten of them and seven after.

The ground under every Ponyville citizens' hooves slowly rumbled to life. Vibrations collapsed snow ponies, rattled windows, and created a scare. Shining Armor had a really bad feeling about those. They looked nice at first, but now...

He ordered, "Everypony inside now. Go, go."

He started pushing his parents back and led his wife and daughter in with them. He wasn't the only one. When the vibrations began, ponies began grabbing things from outside that could break and brought them in with them. A random flower pot hitting a walkway wasn't so lucky.

The window Celestia was standing next to in Canterlot had a coffee mug vibrating when they passed over really close.

Luna grabbed it with her magic and said, "I feel something bad is about to happen."

Celestia was getting that exact same feeling. She looked to a nearby Guard and ordered, "Have a team follow those Stars immediately. I don't like it."



A tapping on her hoof and Queen Arcadia's eyes were open. Did she seriously fall asleep? Her violet eye blinked to rid of any crust and scan her surroundings. Right, she fell asleep in the break room around the corner from the Command Center. She refused to leave until those Marrials made landfall.

Her Violet eyes looked up into Molten's ice blues. "Less than fifteen minutes," she reported.

Good. Time to wake up now. Queen Arcadia stood up and flared her wings open to stretch her limbs. Her bones ached for the need of a massage. Merry would see to that in a heartbeat.

Queen Arcadia walked around Molten and out the doors to the room around the corner. It was day now. She recognized familiar day staff stopping in the busy halls to bow when she and Molten passed. Then continued with what they were doing before.

The Command Center's lights were still out but that was okay. Arcadia wasn't focused on those if at all. She wanted updates. She walked inside and turned an immediate right to bound up the stairs. It seems the Generals too were getting a little sleep in, and who could blame them? Six hours was nearly a whole work day watching a display monitor. It became old rather quickly.

The generals saluted when she took her place at the rail with smoldering eyes on the ponies taking command below. The LiVAMs were displaing live feeds of trajectory by map and tracking lines of all thirty Marrials. Right now...

"Where are we?" Arcadia queried.

Secretary Manny approached her side and answered, "Approximately six thousand feet above Equestria. After that, we're flying over Mount Aris before descending and making landfall in Zebrica."

Her words were true. Because another one of Celestia's red-ribbon scrolls whisked into her line of sight by Dragon Fire. She's received at least two each week. It was really sweet, but then again, they sided with Molten Ice when they thought she was merely shaken from the battle with Maheera and her Mecrah Portal. They gave her no support and trusted that Zebra more than her intuition. It was like the wedding all over again. But instead of losing Shining and Cadance,v They left her when they needed her most.her family was dead.

Queen Arcadia didn't even bother to open it. She used her magic to incinerate it into ashes and focused on the task at hoof: Getting those Marrials across to Zebrica. She waved a hoof across her line of sight and ordered, "Have the Marrials span out into a three hundred sixty degree radius during the attack! Rain on every last spot in Zebrica if you can on its diameter!"



Whatever those long huge pencils were, they left trails in the sky. It didn't take long for the Princesses and personnel to find out where they came from.

Their journey led them all the way from Canterlot and Ponyville to the beach of Las Pegasus. Next to the abandoned Trade Facility and the small block of steel Queen Arcadia gifted to them so long ago. Their hooves slowed down when they stepped into the cold waters of the ocean and directed their eyes towards the west. The smoke trails soared out of sight over blue waters. Leaving only one responsible.

Princess Luna pointed and assumed, "West. Psera. There is no other country with technology like that."

Celestia wasn't so certain. Either that or in denial. "Let's not make any assumptions. It could have been a group in between Psera and Equestria." Based off of Cadance and Luna's deadpan, they all knew that was extremely unlikely. Well there was no proof of Psera's involvement except that they came from the west.

Celestia turned around and trotted back onto cold sand. "Right now we're following after them as fast as we can. Let's go. They were last seen over Manehattan. If we hurry, we can catch them." She didn't wait for a response. She took off into the air after the Marrials as fast as she could with Luna and Cadance on her tail.

By the time they did catch up, they had joined a division of Equestria's Pegasi Guards soaring directly underneath the stars over Mount Aris. Celestia casted a look down to the castle. She could make out Queen Novo and her daughter among all the snow. Even with a coat as white as hers she could still make out the feathers on her head.

One of the Guards leading the chase slowed next to Princess Celestia and saluted. She nodded to him and acknowledged, "Lieutenant Lightning Ways!"

Lieutenant Ways was a Pegasus stallion with a dark brown coat and a short gray windswept mane and tail of the same color. He was promoted personally by Princess Celestia many years ago for a certain task he managed to complete on his own out of the country in Breighton.

"Ma'am!" he greeted. Then pointed above. "No change in pattern or speed! These things are fast! A few of my group had to land! Whatever they are show no sign in slowing down!"

Luna asked, "Is there a formation? Maybe we can cross—"

A loud blare above interrupted their planning and brought them back to the present. To the lead Star up ahead. It suddenly began lowering elevation out from the cover of the clouds and finally broke into their sight. After all this time managed to finally show itself. And it was big.

Celestia gasped and ordered, "Everypony break!!" Then tilted to the right side and avoided the star's loud booster. Whatever this was, it was definitely not a star.

It was a long white metal tube with a really sharp red point flashing at the long skinny tip. It had four fins in the back around the booster and two wings in the middle with a red light on the left and a blue on the right. A single term was on one side, sketched inside of Celestia's mind in Ponish.

"Marrial," she read. She was rejoined by Cadance and Luna staring all around them when two plates of the "Marrial" popped out from the back to fall to the sea below. Two more boosters poked out, then a long beep and they were accelerating with a big blast that could've blown out Celestia's eardrums.

Luna's hair was blown back further trying to fly faster than she's flown her entire life. But even she nor the Guards could catch up to it. It was if the laws of physics didn't apply. Then she gasped and pointed ahead to the one continent they were coming up on. "Celestia!" She shouted. "They're aiming for Zebrica!"

Celestia followed her line of sight to the land's coast they were approaching. Zebrica was only but eighty miles long and nothing like their own. But they had many goods they were willing to trade with IHT. Whatever this thing was it was aiming right for them.

The sky appeared empty, but Celestia could see the rest of the Marrials dotting the airspace of the country and closing in fast. They weren't going to catch up!

Four blurs suddenly zipped right past them aiming straight for the Marrials. One of them had a streak of Rainbow to it. The Wonderbolts! Rainbow Dash zipped underneath the lead Marrial ahead and grabbed it with her hooves alongside Fleetfoot, Spitfire, and Soarin. Then began to push it upwards.

The Princesses were joined by Flurry Heart next to her mother. Before Cadance could start, she pointed ahead and announced, "I asked them to help us!"

The wonderbolts managed to grab one and turn it around towards the distance before moving on to three more. Hopefully, they'd stop them in time.



One of the Commandeers below in the Command Room back on Psera turned back to the command balcony and reported, "Ma'am, Marrial One is getting forceful interference from the outside!"

Forceful Interference? What would be able to stop their...

Arcadia smoldered her eyes and growled, "Equestria. Intervening."

Well Secretary Manny would have none of that. They wanted to play? They can play harder. She approached the bars on the balcony and ordered what Queen Arcadia wanted. "All Marrials, commence manual control override and evasive maneuvers! Lose the Pegasi!"



They were doing it. After they were joined by the Hippogriffs, the Princesses managed to catch up with even more of the Marrials. They used their magic with the strength of the Equestrian Pegasi and the Hippogriffs and managed to tilt them off towards a different trajectory. It was hard work and it took nearly ten creatures to get one in a different direction. But they got at least half of them so far, and they were within two miles from Zebrica.

Novo glided next to Celestia and gasped for air with a smile. "Well this is a day I've been waiting for," she said. "Sweating with Princess Celestia."

Celestia smirked and playfully rolled her eyes before they were directed back to the Marrials. After a big sound like a great long buzz, the lights on the Marrials turned red and started to fly on their own. Then they zipped right back down to where they were before. Their positions.

"Incoming!!" Novo pushed Celestia in one direction while she went in the other when one of those Marrials soared loudly right through where they were before. Accelerating for Zebrica.

Luna caught up to them with Cadance and Flurry to suggest, "We can't stop them! We have to get the Zebras moving!!"

Right. Celestia teleported all of them straight onto Zebrica in one of their villages during what must be a ceremony. There was music, dancing, eating, singing, laughing, all of that. Zebrica's land was mundane, yet still populated. Instead of brick and mortar, there were mud huts, tents, forests, an all natural home with barely any responsibility.

Celestia tilted her head back and shouted in her Canterlot Voice, "EVERYPONY STOP!!!" Like a record scratch, the music stopped playing, all dancing ceased, singing, laughter, and anything else froze.

One of the wise Shamans wearing gold on the side approached with a glare and asked, "Princesses, we are—"

Celestia pointed behind her and interrupted, "You must run! There are thirty large projectiles heading in your direction with an interest in Zebrica! You are in danger!"

Danger?! Before the shamans could question it, Flurry gasped and pointed to the clouds behind the Zebras.

"Look!" She shouted. One of the Marrials was less than five miles away and closing fast. And after a look around, it was clear that they were surrounded.

Celestia wasted zero time. She zipped down and used her head to pick up one of the Zebra foals and deposit her onto her back. "We have to move now! Run! RUN!!"



Queen Arcadia watched in fascination as the distance counter lowered further from zero. Half a mile and closing. Her cold remaining eye moved down to the bright red button hidden under a glass case. Once again, her mind was riddled with doubts. It wouldn't be right to take their lives. They were innocent in this.

So was my family, and all of the two hundred in my castle. She remembered all the blood, gore, pain, screaming, bombs. Her husband dying in her hooves, and her daughter collapsing into dust less than two hours later. That was the last time she heard their voices. In pain. They died in pain.

So shall they. That's why she flipped the glass and jammed her hoof on the button. All lights on the Marrial control stations below turned to red. Like a sea of blood.

"Armed," she reported. Then ordered with a growled, "All Marrials... Make Landfall."